Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Corruption . . . and it's close to Nouri

For the first time since modern Iraq was founded in the 1920s, a sitting government minister has been questioned publicly about corruption allegations, in this case about skimming millions of dollars from a national food-distribution program while ordinary Iraqis went hungry.The parliamentary grilling of Trade Minister Abdul Falah al Sudany ran live Saturday and Sunday on state television, and everyone in Baghdad seems to have been watching.

The ministry of trade is accused of making millions by selling the food aid to traders instead of giving it away.In late April the anti-corruption committee sent a police unit to deliver arrest warrants for senior trade ministry officials, including the minister's two brothers.But the police were greeted by shots fired into the air by the ministry's own guards. During the brief shoot out that followed, the officials, including the brothers, escaped through a back gate.One of the brothers has since been caught, but the minister denies allegations of wrong-doing."Is this what you call democracy? Government officials are getting rich off the back of our misery," one buyer in Shorja market said.

Attention given recently to uncover corruption raises many questions despite the importance to fight this negative occurrence. Unveiling corruption is a mission to save the nation not individuals, thus everyone involved should be held accountable. Most importantly, politics should be kept out of the picture giving place to parliamentarian and judicial accountability.While the first put under questioning was Trade Minister Abdul Fallah Al Sudani, yet, interrogation will save no one who is expected to be implicated in any kind of corruption, bribery or shortcoming.After more than 100 lawmakers signed on revoking the confidence vote of Trade Minister Abdul Fallah Al Sudani, the confidence vote session will be held a week after submitting the request to the Parliament presidency committee which will take the decision by a small majority.

Thomas Ferraro (Reuters) reports that the Senate Democratic Policy Committee will hold a hearing today on KRB's 'business' in Iraq with a source telling Ferraro that it will explore "tens of millions of dollars in bonuses" KBR has received.

On or by May 28, the Obama administration is being forced to release 2000 photos of detainee abuse in US facilities from 2001-2006. The Abu Ghraib photos, released in 2004 only because a solider was horrified over the torture, brought an international storm of protest against the US torture state. The new photos, including many from Bagram, where the detention facilities have just been doubled to hold 60,000 Afganis, will show that US torture was widespread, sustained, and systemic, not an "aberration," but an integral part of the "global war on terror."

Weeks after 4 more torture memos revealed the detail with which George Bush's lawyers managed the torture of individual detainees, calls to prosecute those responsible -- from the White House principals, to the legal torture team, to the CIA agents who tortured -- have met objections from Washington. Cheney and the open advocates of torture scream that they must be able to use "harsh methods" to win the global war on terror. The Obama administration, after deciding to continue indefinite detention, CIA rendition, and Bush's executive powers, says prosecution would stop them from "moving forward." Democratic party leader Nancy Pelosi knew about the torture and waterboarding since 2002, saying and doing nothing to stop it..

It's up to the people to act! World Can't Wait and other groups are planning non-violent civil resistance protests, programs digging into the substance of the charges, waterboarding and rendition re-enactments, and film showings in communities around the country to demand prosecution of the Bush era war criminals. More information, listings, posters, flyers & background on the war criminals at warcriminalswatch.org.

Wherever the Bush era war criminals are appearing this month, raise the cry "Torture is a War Crime! Prosecute!"

About Me

We do not open attachments. Stop e-mailing them. Threats and abusive e-mail are not covered by any privacy rule. This isn't to the reporters at a certain paper (keep 'em coming, they are funny). This is for the likes of failed comics who think they can threaten via e-mails and then whine, "E-mails are supposed to be private." E-mail threats will be turned over to the FBI and they will be noted here with the names and anything I feel like quoting.
This also applies to anyone writing to complain about a friend of mine. That's not why the public account exists.